Chapter 13 : A Glimmer of Hope Amidst the Weary Search

The Grand Elder was quite accustomed to this scene and spoke calmly, "Six thousand six hundred seventy-three individuals. This year's count is somewhat greater than in previous years."

"Yet, a larger number is favorable. The probability of detecting a Spiritual Root [the innate organ that allows one to sense and absorb spiritual energy] will be higher. It merely means we must toil a little harder for these two days, that is all."

Testing children for Spiritual Root was a tedious affair. In past years, four or five cultivators at the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer [the ninth and final stage of the Qi Refinement realm] would work together, typically completing the task within a single day.

However, with several of the elder uncles having fallen in battle, this year's Spirit Root Detection Assembly fell solely upon Eldrin Chen and the Grand Elder, making the labor feel particularly wearying.

Initially, Eldrin Chen was filled with excitement, hoping to discover one or two seeds of immortal destiny for the clan. Yet, as time wore on, he gradually grew numb.

He had tested over a thousand individuals in succession, and every single one was a mortal without a Spiritual Root, which cast a pall of gloom over his heart.

It was not until dusk that Eldrin Chen, taking the arm of a young child and channeling his spiritual energy into the boy's body, suddenly felt a faint stirring.

"Hmm—"

Eldrin Chen's eyes lit up, a look of pleasant surprise crossing his features. He probed again with his spiritual energy and indeed vaguely sensed a weak, spiritual power within.

Seeing Eldrin Chen's expression, the Grand Elder hurried over, grasped the young child's hand, and sent his own spiritual energy coursing through the boy's meridians. After a long moment, he finally spoke. For uninterrupted reading, go to audio novel.com.

"A pity, it is Four Spiritual Roots [a cultivator's spiritual affinity composed of four elemental attributes, considered a mediocre potential]."

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen once again channeled his spiritual energy into the child's meridians. This time, he indeed sensed the faint presence of four distinct spiritual attributes.

Among cultivators' Spiritual Root [the innate spiritual affinity that determines one's talent for cultivation], Four Spiritual Roots is already considered a middling to poor endowment. This type of Spiritual Root offers little potential for cultivation, as practitioners with Four Spiritual Roots progress with agonizing slowness. Most spend their entire lives without ever breaking through to the Qi Refinement, Late Stage [the advanced phase of the initial cultivation stage].

Although the Spiritual Root was rather poor, it was still a child with a detectable Spiritual Root, which counted as a favorable beginning.

The Grand Elder [the highest-ranking elder in the clan] instructed someone with a kindly expression to take the child aside, and then the testing continued.

Perhaps Eldrin Chen had set a fortunate precedent, for the two of them subsequently detected two more children possessing Spiritual Root.

Because of this, the Grand Elder wore a faint smile until the very end, clearly in good spirits.

The Spiritual Root detection lasted for two days. In total, three children with Spiritual Root were found. Apart from the initial child with Four Spiritual Roots, one of the others possessed Five Spiritual Roots [the lowest-grade spiritual affinity, comprising all five elements], which naturally required no further comment. The most crucial discovery was a child with Three Spiritual Roots [a spiritual affinity of three elements, considered a decent talent].

This was considered a rather good aptitude. The Chen Clan only produced a practitioner with Three Spiritual Roots every few years. Such cultivators often had a moderately promising future.

With diligent cultivation, even if they could not break through to the Qi Refinement Ninth Layer [the peak of the Qi Refinement stage] before the age of sixty to become a clan elder like the Clan Patriarch [the leader of the clan], they would most likely achieve the breakthrough around seventy, becoming an elder of the clan and contributing their strength to the family's cause.

"A pity there is no Two Spiritual Roots [a rare and superior grade of spiritual root endowment]."

After the testing was complete, Eldrin Chen let out a sigh of relief, tinged with a hint of regret as he spoke.

"You, young man."

The Grand Elder was both amused and exasperated. "Three individuals with Spiritual Root [the innate capacity to cultivate spiritual energy] in a single year is already quite a good result. In most years, we are fortunate to find one or two."

As for the Two Spiritual Roots, the Chen Clan could expect to produce one such talent only once every twenty years or so on average. The most recent bearer of Two Spiritual Roots was Chen Corin, who had been accepted into the Green Sun Sect.

Chen Kael shook his head. He glanced at Eldrin Chen and said with a faint smile,

"The testing here is finished."

"But the six towns still require inspections. I must remain to guard Pingyang City and cannot leave. This task will fall to you."

Eldrin Chen nodded. "Understood. I shall set out shortly."

After centuries of development, the population of Pingyang City had reached its saturation point more than one hundred years prior.

Due to the limitations of Pingyang City, at the peak of the Chen Clan's power eighty years ago, they expended immense resources to cultivate six First Rank [the initial and lowest tier of spiritual energy veins] spirit veins within a radius of several hundred Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] centered on Pingyang County.

Relying on these six small, first-rank spirit veins, the Chen Clan established Six Towns, which are the present-day Pingyang Six Towns.

Each of the Six Towns was equipped with First Rank High Grade defensive formations and garrisoned by Chen Clan cultivators at the Qi Refinement, Mid Stage [the middle phase of the Qi Refinement realm, where a cultivator refines their body and spirit with spiritual energy] or higher. This was sufficient to guard against demons and beasts below the Foundation Establishment [the realm where a cultivator solidifies their spiritual foundation] level, effectively serving as a protective barrier for Pingyang City.

With these Six Towns rooted in the periphery, intercepting scattered demonic beasts, the vast plains spanning several hundred Li-lengths within the heartland of Pingyang County became fertile soil—a granary where the descendants of the Pingyang Chen Clan could farm in peace for generations.

"These hundreds of Li-lengths of fertile land... our ancestors from eighty years ago truly possessed foresight."

"What a pity..." Access the full story on audio–novel.com.

Eldrin Chen walked across this plain and could not help but sigh.

If not for the Beast Tide Calamity [a catastrophic invasion by hordes of demonic beasts] Sixty Years Ago, which severely wounded the Chen Clan's vitality and depleted seventy to eighty percent of their strength, they would not be in such a constrained and humiliating position today.

Within the harsh, demon-beast-infested wilderness of the Eastern Wastelands, such relatively safe and fertile land was exceedingly rare.

If these hundreds of Li-lengths of fertile land could be fully developed, they could undoubtedly sustain the reproduction and livelihood of several million mortals. The number of cultivators the Chen Clan produced each year would increase more than tenfold.

Regrettably, the strength of the Chen Clan was insufficient. If they truly allowed their mortal populace to multiply into the millions, they would likely face a calamity of utter annihilation.

The flesh, blood, and souls of several million mortals were a treasure coveted even by great demonic beings of the Purple Mansion Realm [a major stage of cultivation]. A single blood sacrifice of that scale would be sufficient to forge a third-rank demonic treasure [a powerful enchanted artifact of the demonic path] of the Purple Mansion Realm.

Such temptation was enough to drive evil fiends to take risks and commit acts that would enrage both heaven and mankind.

Therefore, the Chen Immortal Clan had always controlled the slow growth of its population to avoid drawing the attention of such great demonic entities.

Eldrin Chen moved with great speed. In little more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn [a conventional short duration, roughly fifteen to thirty minutes], he arrived at the first town.

This town was the closest to Pingyang County and was the most developed among the Six Towns, with a population of over fifteen thousand people. The number of children of suitable age alone exceeded seven hundred.

Eldrin Chen spent several hours testing all seven hundred-plus individuals. Unfortunately, he did not detect a single Spiritual Root [the innate talent required for cultivation].

Without wasting further time, he proceeded to the other towns. In just two days, he completed the testing in five towns, yet he had not encountered a single individual with a Spiritual Root.

"The final town lies ahead," he murmured to himself.

Eldrin Chen felt a wave of discouragement as he looked at the map, holding little hope for the last remaining settlement.

Pingyuan Town was the most distant of the six towns from Pingyang City, serving as the first line of defense for the Pingyang region. Its environment was the harshest, frequently subjected to attacks from demonic beasts and venomous insects. Consequently, its population was the smallest among the six towns.

The entire town held a mere three thousand souls. Excluding the eight hundred soldiers of the Black Armored Cavalry who defended against low-tier demonic beasts, only a little over two thousand civilians remained. Among them, the number of children of suitable age likely did not exceed two hundred.

"Something is wrong."

While still over ten Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] from Pingyuan Town, Eldrin Chen sensed that something was amiss.

To guard against attacks from low-tier demonic beasts, according to the Chen Clan's regulations, patrols from the Black Armored Cavalry should have been active within ten Li-lengths of Pingyuan Town. Yet today, he had not seen a single soldier from the Black Armored Cavalry.

What filled him with even greater unease was the faint but unmistakable scent of blood carried to him from afar on the wind.

"This is bad!" Continue reading this story at audio - novel . com.